...to expect ^some^ --any-- information from school about long-term teacher absence?

[CSLewis]

KS1 teacher, has been absent since before the summer half-term.

Since then my daughter's Year 1 class has sat their Phonics test.

Two weeks ago I asked the Deputy Head what the story was regarding her class teacher, and was told a letter was going out to parents.

Still no letter, so today I asked the Head the same thing, and was told again that a letter was going out (apparently today but I'll believe it when I see it), and that she was due to have a conversation with him this afternoon about some medical results, after which she'd know more.

Head was very defensive and clearly annoyed at me for harping on about the total lack of any communication from the school about the absence (now going on 2 months) of this (very nice) teacher.

I told her that I do understand their difficulty if they don't know if/when teachers will be back from sick-leave; I also understand how difficult it can be to recruit decent staff, let alone decent cover/supply... it's BECAUSE I understand the difficulty that I'm worried about the situation of my daughter's class!

AIBU? To want to be kept informed of who is teaching my child? To think that the school could have kept us informed (in general terms, I understand the teacher has a right to privacy) as to the likely situation going forward, a little earlier on? Because it sounds like the Head thinks I am!

Italics/strike-through fail!

What exactly do you think the head should be telling you?

It may be a situation where the teacher is going for tests and they themselves don't know until the results are back.

You are being nosy.

Not unreasonable to want to know but sometimes there aren't answers available. Maybe the school and the teacher have no idea how long it's going to go on.

As an example.

I was off long term when my parent was dying.
I obviously didn't know when they were going to kick the bucket nor how I'd feel afterwards.

Therefore I'd no idea when I'd be back.

The head has no obligation to provide parents with full details of the teacher's sickness. It has absolutely nothing to do with you.

The school probably don't know how long the teacher will be off for. They're very limited in what they can actually tell you.

I would actually be raging if my work decided to reveal personal private information to some service user.

Not appropriate at all.

The teacher is off sick. Someone else is presumably teaching your kid.

What more can they tell you?

Assuming the replacement teacher is doing ok then you've no right to information about what may or may not be happening with her class teacher. If the replacement isn't doing ok, you need to raise those concerns but the teachers personal health issues, length of absence, possible return and reasons for this are none of your business.

all you need to know is that an employee of the school is off with sickness absence. Anything else is NOYB

The teacher is off sick, surely that is all they need to tell you? Why would you need details of what's wrong etc?

All they need to inform you of is that the teacher is off until such a time he/she is better!

It's really difficult as the head has to respect the teachers privacy and employment law
The most you can expect is some information about the supply/cover arrangements which might be bring decided weekly (eg weekly sick notes coming in)

Yabu.
My dc teacher went off at xmas....parents were told teacher is off sick, and X teacher is covering.
Had an email this teacher saying lovely teacher has sadly passed away.
None of our business apart from writing a note offering sympathy to the school and family.
(School has offered support to pupils of needed so no pastoral concerns).

I can appreciate you might want a response such as "x is off for 12 weeks and this is what we have done to ensure continuity of education" however...if the school don't know how long the teacher is off for (they could get signed off for 1 week at a time) then there is no benefit in them saying they have no clue what's going on. That would infuriate parents more.

This teacher is a person too...they deserve privacy. They also have every right to be off work if there are personal/medical reasons. In no other industry would stakeholders demand to know why.

The head may have very limited information themselves. Even when it's clear that a health condition won't resolve quickly, the head can only go on one sick note at a time which may be one or two weeks notice.

As a former supply teacher, I've had many "piece of string" jobs where I've worked several terms in various schools only knowing that I'm there for one or two weeks at a time. I have been in a position where I've said to classes that have had a succession of supply before I've got to them that they will have me until their teacher returns, or the end of the year when it's been clear that there is no realistic return coming up on the horizon. The only thing I can assure them on is that I am committed to them while that gap is there.

The head also has to respect the teacher's confidential health. Even a broad headline such as "stress" can be problematic.

YANBU to be concerned about continuity for your child.

YABU to expect any information about why the teacher is absent or for how long. And also possibly YABU for expecting the school to keep parents informed about their contingency plans regarding covering the teacher's absence. They will do their best to cover the class with the staff that are available. If they don't know when the usual teacher will be back, there's nothing much they can tell you.

YABU, the teacher may be handing in weekly sick notes as another poster has suggested, preventing a long term supply to be arranged.

It's understandable that you're worried about your daughters phonics test (at her age though it isn't really the be all and end all tbh), but knowing the exact nature of the teachers absence won't help that.

My son has been unfortunate in that the last two years both of his teachers have had periods of long-term sickness.

Of course whilst I was curious mainly out of concern for the teachers involved it's absolutely not appropriate for the school to tell me why they were off sick.

All I could ask for was details of how they planned to cover the absence and ask them to ensure that my son's needs were met. My son has an identified difficulty to deal with change and we get the challenging behaviour at home because of it.

I wouldn't expect any information on the teacher's health/reasons for absence.

My DD's class teacher was on long-term sick. Each friday we received info from the school as to the lessons for the following week and who was covering

What on earth does it have to do with you??

Of course YABU. Keep your beak out.

The hardest thing was trying to make my son understand that we didn't know when his teacher was returning and neither did the school or the teacher themselves. I explained it was up to the teachers doctor and even the doctor probably didn't know. It was very challenging trying to explain uncertainty to a child who likes certainty!

Provided your child has a teacher I really can't see that it's any of your business . If you feel your child's education is suffering then you have the option to move them , you do not have the option to know this teachers private affairs.

YABU

the teacher is entitled to have their personal and/or medical info kept confidential

You don't need to know what's going on.